Bank branch cutting hours

[disneysteve]

I went to the bank today to deposit the dollar coins I ordered from the mint (see my other thread). There was a sign at the door that the branch hours had changed as of 2/17. I didn't completely memorize them, but they are now closing at 3pm Mon-Thur and will no longer be open on Saturday. I asked the teller about it (and the manager overheard me) and was told that they just aren't busy enough to justify bringing in the employees. That doesn't surprise me at all as any time I go in there, it is dead. Today, I was the only customer in the bank, and that's often the case. There are multiple branches in the area and others will maintain Saturday and later daily hours.

[sweeps]

I think that's just the start. Some of these branches have to close at some point. It makes no sense to have a branch every square mile.

[GREENBACK]

With online banking, it surprises me that the brick and mortar banks have done well for this long. I used to go to my bank several times a month but since I can do most transactions online now I hardly ever go to one. I even hold cash deposits for a lot longer than I used to(interest rate isn't interesting enough). I put these things in my home safe til they accumulate enough for a deposit.

[disneysteve]

It makes no sense to have a branch every square mile.

With online banking, it surprises me that the brick and mortar banks have done well for this long.

I agree. I've said this many times, each time they built a new bank branch near me. I've asked my cousin who is a bank officer and even he can't explain how these banks can support so very many branches. When Commerce (now TD) came to the area, they started popping up like weeds. Where there were once none, within 2 years there were dozens of Commerce branches.

[SnoopyCool]

Our credit union just expanded their hours on Saturdays from 9-5.

[atomicrc11]

In a city, it is more justifiable to have more branches. BoA has many branches in Boston, but also many of their locations are ATMs only. Having these store fronts that only have ATMs are probably justifiable as they have many customers who make withdrawls and deposits at these locations. They also take in $2 per withdrawal from customers of other banks. The ATMs that are actually inside branches charge $3 per withdrawal.

So the ATMs make money and work 24/hrs a day 360+ days per year and all they need is electricity and occasional maintenance. I forsee the ATM vestibules staying open and at least some of the branches closing. At least the ones where there are literally two right across the street from each other. Many of those instances are from before BoA bought Fleet which bough BankBoston which was a result of the merger of Bank of Boston and Bay Bank.

[disneysteve]

I was at the ATM on Saturday at a different BoA branch. The new hours are 9-3 M-Th and 9-5 on Fr. That's it. No late hours, not even on Friday (payday for most people). No Saturday hours. While I was waiting to use the ATM, a couple of people drove up intending to go into the bank only to learn of the new hours.

The ATM was mobbed. There were 3 people ahead of me in line and by the time I finished my transaction, there were 5 people in line behind me. I was depositing checks, which is horrendously difficult with their new ATMs. I heard everyone grumbling behind me but I really had no choice. Had the bank been open, I would have gone in. It is quicker to make a deposit at a teller than at the ATM since they changed the machines, but since I work for a living, I can't bank from 9-3.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Everything old is new again.

This is the meaning of the phrase "banker's hours." Years ago pretty much all banks opened at 9 a.m. and closed at 3 p.m. I'm not even sure when they turned to longer hours. I used to reckon they closed early to do all their "books" back in the day before every action at the bank was recorded by a keystroke on a computer. Nowadays though, shorter hours must be to save on operations expenses, don't you think?

[disneysteve]

Nowadays though, shorter hours must be to save on operations expenses, don't you think?

Absolutely. As I said in my OP, that's what they told me when I commented on the change. They just aren't busy enough to justify the cost of having the branch open.

My cousin, who is a bank officer, told me that foot traffic is nearly non-existent. He doesn't know how all these branches stay in business and won't be surprised to see some of them closing up.